Maravi

Michael will deliver

Michael will deliver
Thu 13 Sep. 2012, 10:30 CAT

No one will improve, develop or change Zambia for us. It is only we ourselves through our collective efforts who can improve, develop or change Zambia. And this is why we have repeatedly stated that true democracy is a growth in the confidence in the power of ordinary people to transform their country, and thus transform themselves.

It is a growth in the appreciation of people organising, deciding, creating together. It is a growth of fraternal love. This is the true meaning of revolutionary democracy - democracy that is capable of transforming or changing our country and ourselves.
Clearly, democracy is not about the leaders doing everything for us, performing miracles to give us everything that we need or desire. In a democracy, leaders lead but the people govern.

And this is why it is said that democracy itself guarantees nothing. It offers instead the opportunity to succeed as well as the risk of failure. In Thomas Jefferson's ringing but shrewd phrase, the promise of democracy is "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness".

Democracy is then a promise and a challenge. It is a promise that free human beings, working together, can govern themselves in a manner that will serve their aspirations for personal freedom, economic opportunity and social justice. It is a challenge because the success of the democratic enterprise rests upon the shoulders of its citizens and no one else.
Government of and by the people means that the citizens of a democratic society share in its benefits and in its burdens.

Josef Brodsky, Russian-born poet and Nobel Prize winner, once wrote, "A free man, when he fails, blames nobody." It is true as well for the citizens of a country who, finally, must take responsibility for the fate of the society in which they themselves have chosen to live. In the end, we get the government we deserve.

As we have stated before, you cannot build an economy or a society purely on the basis of entitlement. People have to make a contribution. They have to have a sense of ownership which they don't get from being given things they don't have a stake in and things they have contributed nothing to.
This is something we have stated before and we will continue to state because it is very important. We need to believe collectively that we deserve a better life and decide to give ourselves that better life.

Our political leaders are not our masters, they are our servants. Persons chosen to represent the masses in positions of authority are, precisely, chosen to serve. The primary motivation for a person seeking a position of authority should be a deep desire to help others. Attentiveness to the needs of the persons being served is essential to an understanding and fulfilment of this deep desire to help and serve others. Servant leadership encourages the active participation of all members in building one another and society at large. Authority is exercised legitimately if it's committed to the common good of society. The exercise of authority must take on the character of service. And those who lead should behave as ministers of the Divine providence.

Our political leaders are there to meet our collective aspirations. This is why we elect leaders. The standard against which we must judge our leaders is their preparedness to meet our collective needs. We need leaders who are going to muster our collective genius to make all our lives better. We do not need a genius who knows everything. Moreover, Zambia has known no single genius, there can only be a collective genius.

And whatever one might want to say about Michael Sata, as President of our Republic, it is very important to recognise that he is truly a servant of the people. In Michael we have a President who loves his people. Michael loves this country. Michael has great esteem - not for the land, this isn't love of the land - and love for his people who live in this land. And this reminds us what Jose Marti once said: "love of homeland, mother, isn't ridiculous love of the land or of the grass under our plants; it is invincible hatred of those who oppress it, eternal animosity toward those who attack it."

And it is this quality that makes Michael a good and reliable leader. One may have a problem with Michael's personality, but that should not be confused for his character. At his core, this man is a patriot, a very humane and loving human being.

We do not believe that Michael sought power to make himself and his family rich as we saw with Rupiah Banda and his criminal regime. Michael seems very anxious to deliver to our people. He wants to create jobs for the unemployed and bring more decency to the jobs that are already in existence.

A society's well-being depends on efforts to ensure that no member feels excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires that all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve their lives. Access to dignified employment is one sure way of ensuring the inclusion of everyone in the life of society. Zambia has been enjoying some economic growth but the poverty levels have not adequately reduced as a result. The creation of dignified employment is crucial to ensuring the reduction of poverty in the face of economic growth. Work is at the centre of the social question, the key to making life more humane.

We have every reason to believe that Michael will succeed. Why are we saying this? To sing praises? To glorify Michael and make him more popular? No. We say these things because we sincerely believe that Michael is sincerely looking for solutions to the many problems our country is today facing which may seem intractable. Michael has set himself the noble goal of restoring dignity to our people, to our homeland. This might sound like mere rhetoric, but it is a good and noble goal. When our people begin to regain their dignity, they will demand more from their leaders. This will invariably increase the levels of accountability. And with increased accountability, the levels of service delivery to our people will increase. Accountability is a key requirement of participatory governance.

It is clear that Michael likes to work in a team. And this may explain why his core team has remained largely consistent since he formed the Patriotic Front in 2001. Michael also does not keep grudges. This helps him to work with anyone that he thinks is going to make a contribution to the country. His character enables him to do this for the benefit of the country. Michael is not usually given credit for this. But this is not to say Michael is a weak leader and is incapable of taking hard decisions. He is not. Michael is capable of taking very hard decisions. He combines a passionate spirit with a cold intelligence and is capable of making painful decisions without contracting a muscle. With such qualities, we don't see anything that will stop Michael from delivering if he continues to work shoulder-to-shoulder like beavers with the rest of the Zambian people.
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posted by MrK @ 8:19 PM